Awkward
by Narnian at Heart
Summary: Carol always knew she'd have to be the one to make the first move. Based on Norman's view of how Daryl would react to a romantic advance.
1. Awkward

**Was reading an interview with Norman about his thoughts on Daryl and Carol's relationship and I thought his view on it all would make excellent fanfiction. So I have decided to take the task upon myself and write this little one shot :)**

**Enjoy!**

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The cell block was secure, technically two of them since they'd cleared the on for the prisoners, but they were still anything but safe inside these fences and Daryl wasn't about to let his guard down for even a second. The fact that the civilian woman had been in the yard continued to nag him, making him think there must be somewhere she got in at. Although Glenn had suggested that maybe she had been there for visiting hours...or a conjugal visit.

But even so, he wasn't going to risk it and that's why he was out here now, pacing along the fence line, looking for weaknesses, making sure the yard was empty, taking out walkers along the fence just for the heck of it.

"You know, Rick walked the fences several times," Daryl smiled slightly to himself at the sound of Carol's voice, "He didn't find any problems."

"Better safe than chewed up by geeks," Daryl replied grimly, but he wasn't annoyed at her presence. He was actually glad of her company, they had gotten close over the winter and it was so easy to be around her nowadays.

"Just when did you plan on sleeping tonight?" Carol asked as she walked beside him down the fence line.

"Don't worry about me so damn much, Carol," Daryl laughed lightly, "I'm a big boy."

Carol giggled and smacked him lightly on the arm.

"I know you can take care of yourself, Daryl," she said, "But sometimes I think you forget to."

Daryl sniffed noncommittally and continued walking, Carol was right on his heels. Suddenly he stopped and Carol ran right into him from behind.

"Oof! What's wrong?" she quickly recovered from the sudden stop and glanced around nervously, brandishing the crowbar she'd brought along.

"Nothin'," Daryl drawled, "I just stopped and you didn't."

"Sorry," Carol laughed, "I was distracted."

"Distracted?" Daryl asked, "What the hell is there to be distracted by around here?"

"Several things," Carol replied mysteriously. She acquired a look of exaggerated innocence and Daryl squinted at her. "Moonlight's pretty bright, kinda romantic."

Daryl chuckled.

"I suppose you wanna "screw around", huh?" Daryl teased, accentuating the phrase with quotation mark fingers.

"Well, if you insist," Carol grinned.

Daryl tried to play it off with a nervous laugh, and he turned to continue his walk. But Carol wasn't about to be dismissed again, not when the timing was so perfect. She immediately stepped in front of him and put her hands on his chest to stop his forward progress. He looked at her in surprise.

"Carol, I wasn't serious," he said quickly, looking very nervous.

"But I was," Carol whispered. She immediately grabbed hold of his jacket and pulled herself onto her tip toes to kiss him, and she was delighted to find he was too shocked to run away. He stood there frozen as she attacked his mouth with hers, but she felt a tell tale reaction somewhere around her hips and she grinned with the knowledge that he wasn't turned off by the idea of them at least. However, she made the huge mistake of reaching between them and getting a hold of that twitching lump between them and giving it a strong squeeze.

She didn't know what she expected, but the reaction she got was definitely NOT it. Daryl's whole body jerked rather violently and he let out a very loud and long groan and grabbed her wrist tightly...but it was too late. Carol backed off in surprise and slight amusement. She'd just cause Daryl Dixon, tough, mean, rough, no nonsense Daryl Dixon, to cum in his jeans.

When she finally met his eyes she realized he looked absolutely horrified and embarrassed. She immediately felt bad for her rashness and she stepped forward to soothe him but he jerked away and stepped back with wide eyes. Before she could apologize or tell him it was alright he turned and bolted, running full out in the direction of the furthest guard tower. Carol stood there in utter disbelieved shock, not really knowing exactly what she'd just done.

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Daryl leaned back against the desk of the guard tower and tried to steady his breathing from the sprint across the yard and the utterly horrifying experience he'd just been through. What the hell was that woman thinking? He hadn't had a moment's privacy since the farm was overrun so none of them, that he knew of, had a moment's peace to relieve the tensions this life had thrown their way, he was on edge all the time and he really needed a good jerk off...but damn it, he guessed there was no way she would have known that. But still, the woman was too damn touchy.

Truth be told, he was mortified. He really didn't have a whole lot of experience in that area, and now Carol knew that pretty damn well obviously. He felt like a damn twelve year old, jizzing in his pants like some virgin with the awkward lanky girl in school under the bleachers.

"Fuck," he groaned, running a hand down his face in annoyance at himself. The worst thing about all of this...he felt the urge to cry. Daryl Dixon didn't fuckin' cry, but this instance was almost too much to handle. He really liked Carol, she was a really special woman, but this had probably just stomped every chance he had with her into the dirt. So, as ashamed of himself as he was, he let the tears slide down his cheeks as he sat in the darkness of the guard tower.

Moment later he smacked himself up side his head and jumped up, realizing he'd left Carol out in the yard by herself!

"You big ass!" he scolded himself, making his way toward the door of the tower to make sure she had gotten back safe. He reached for the door but it swung in before he could and he jerked back, bumping into the desk behind him and pulling his buck knife automatically. But the nervous face of Carol caused him to relax a little and sheathe the weapon with a sigh.

"Whatd'ya want?" he snapped defensively.

Carol looked down at her feet which scuffed the floor a few times before she held something out to him in front of her. His ratty old cargo pants.

"I'm sorry, Daryl," she whispered.

Daryl took the pants from her with a sigh.

"Weren't yer fault," he replied quietly, his drawl thicker than ever in his state of embarrassment. "Just...been a while, ya know? Wasn't ready for that."

Carol smiled at that, and nodded.

"Been a while for all of us," she agreed, "I shouldn't have been so...aggressive."

"You mind getting out o' here so I can, uh...put these on?" Daryl asked, holding up the cargos.

"I'll turn around," Carol said and she did just that. Daryl hesitated, wishing she would leave completely, but then he realized he didn't want her out there alone either...so he swallowed his pride and sighed. He peeled his sticky jeans off with disgust once again at himself and used one of the legs to get himself relatively unsticky before quickly slipping the cargos on.

"Done?" Carol asked, her voice made him jump a little as it broke the silence.

"Yeah," he muttered grimly. She turned around and reached out a hand. "What?"

"I'll wash them for you," she said simply.

"Like hell ya will," Daryl growled, holding the jeans out of her reach. "I'll do it m'self."

"Don't be so stubborn, Daryl," Carol rolled her eyes.

"It ain't stubbornness," Daryl insisted, "It's personal preference."

Carol giggled at that and nodded in acceptance.

"You don't need to be embarrassed, you know?" she whispered.

Daryl squinted at her and sighed.

"Can we just...forget this ever happened?" he begged her quietly.

Carol got a funny look on her face and then she nodded.

"Yes, of course," she whispered, placing her hand on his forearm the way she did sometimes when he was stressed, "That way we can start over."

Daryl rolled his eyes and followed her out of the tower. Damn woman, she just never gave up on him...and he never wanted her to.

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**So, that's my take on things. What do YOU think? Leave me some reviews and let me know your thoughts!**


	2. Maladroit

**"Awkward" got such a great response, thanks all you's guys! Since I've been asked by several of you to do a continuation, I have decided to grant this request in a series of oneshots based on the awkwardness and cuteness that is our favorite pair. Be on the lookout :)**

**Here's the next one!**

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After the unfortunately embarrassing situation last week, Carol and Daryl spent a lot of time apart. Carol focused on her study of the female anatomy in her quest to better prepare herself for Lori's delivery in case a C-Section was in the cards. Daryl spent a whole lot of time going around like a protective guard dog, taking down stray walkers, hunting when the coast was clear, visiting Axel and Oscar in their cell block to check on how they were holding up, and cleaning his crossbow...he did that a lot. Carol swore that thing must be smoother than a baby's buttcheeks.

This night in particular, Carol was laying on the top bunk in hers and Lori's cell listening to the howling of the wind through the cracks of the prison walls and over the roof, the sound alone was enough to make her shiver. Then came the heavy pitter patter of a sudden Georgia spring rain, it pounded the walls and the tin on the roof mercilessly and Carol sighed, knowing she wasn't going to get any sleep. She was scared of storms.

So when the cell block lit up with a bright flash of lightning and the place shook with the force of a huge clap of thunder, she jolted upright in bed and clamped her hands over her mouth to stifle her scream. She looked around, wide-eyed and calmed down her breathing.

Another huge clap sent her out of that bed and to the floor where she stood in her bare feet just hugging herself. She glance over at Lori who was sound asleep and sighed, wishing she could sleep through all this. She glanced out of their cell to get a look at the windows. They were covered in rivulets and the rain didn't look like it would be letting up anytime soon.

A shadow passed in front of her doorway and Carol nearly had a heart attack. She squeaked in fear and the shadow stopped.

"What's your problem?" came the surly voice of Daryl. By this time, Carol's eyes had adjusted and she realized he was soaked through with rain water and his hair was dripping little drops of it down his face.

"Scared of storms," Carol admitted miserably.

"Scared? Why, they ain't gonna hurt ya?" Daryl didn't seem to sympathize with her.

"I know that, Daryl," Carol rolled her eyes, but she wrapped her arms around herself anyway, a form of self protection that really did nothing but make you feel better. "But I just don't like them."

Daryl sniffed.

"I love 'em," he claimed, "Except when I get caught in the middle of 'em."

Carol giggle when he shook his head and sent little droplet flying in her direction. She saw the mischievous grin he gave her for a split second before he continued walking and headed up into his perch. Carol followed him without even thinking, but he must not have noticed because he immediately stripped off his wet jacket and shirt, leaving him bare topped in front of her. Carol stared at the expanse of his back in surprise, wondering if he had a clue she was there, and took in the rippling effect of the muscles under his skin as he crouched down and ruffled through his pack for a dry shirt and then pulled it on.

"Ya got starin' problems?" his voice made Carol jump out of her admiration and she blushed brightly.

"You knew I was here," she argued, "You're the one doing the strip tease."

Daryl looked over his shoulder with that familiar unamused squint, but then he grinned and turned around to face her.

"Well you hang around me so damn much it ain't like I have any kind of privacy," he stated gruffly, "And I'm soaked if ya haven't noticed, so I don't feel like sittin' around in these wet rags waitin' for you t' leave. But if ya'd at least turn around for a second while I get out of these wet jean, I'd appreciate it."

Carol's eyes widened, he usually didn't speak more than a few words each time he opened his mouth. She turned around and listened to the sound of material moving around until it finally stopped, then she turned back around.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Huh?" Daryl asked, looking confused.

"I'll go back to bed and give you your space," Carol shurgged, knowing in the back of her mind he was either telling the truth and he actually wanted her gone, or this was his way of teasing her and in that case he would stop her from leaving. Win-win situation, so she turned to leave. Sure enough she felt a firm hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, stop it," Daryl growled, "You know I was just messin' with ya."

Carol turned back around and smiled, then a huge clap of thunder split the air and she squealed and jumped forward, smacking right into his chest and knocking him flat on his back in his pile of blankets on the mattresses he'd grabbed from the empty cells. Embarrassment flooded over her and she buried her face in his shirt collar, trying to block out his grumblings.

"Damn it, Carol," he muttered, pushing her off to the side, "It's a fuckin' thunderstorm, not a herd of walkers!"

Carol suddenly felt absolutely foolish. Walkers...they were truly dangerous, ruthless and horrific and they didn't even phase her anymore, but here she was, freaking out over a stupid static charge in the air and a little bit of rain. She felt ridiculous and all of the sudden she broke into tears. She saw Daryl recoil out of the corner of her eyes, he didn't deal well with crying and she knew that but she couldn't help it, she felt like a weak little child.

"Hey now," Daryl squeaked, clearly uncomfortable, "None o' that now! Carol, stop it."

"I...I..." but she couldn't speak for all her tears and her constricted throat.

"Damn it," she heard Daryl grumble darkly, but a few moments later she felt something warm against her back and she recognized it as his arm, resting across her shoulders, his hand closed hesitantly on her upper arm a second before she was pulled sideways into him. "Stop yer cryin', woman. I didn't mean nothin' by it."

She glanced up, realizing her head was now resting against his chest and her nose rubbed into the scruff on his chin, making her feel ticklish. It also made her shudder for reasons she decided would be best to keep to herself, imagining how that goaty scruff would feel like brushing against her thighs as he...oh good Lord, she had to stop thinking like that!

"Whatcha thinkin' about?" Daryl's question couldn't have been more perfectly timed. Carol immediately guffawed and started laughing, pressing her face into his chest to muffle the sounds. He pushed her off of him and looked at her in utter confusion.

"You don't even want to know," Carol giggled.

Daryl cocked an eyebrow in surprise and stood up immediately. He paced slightly before he went over to the bars around the perch and leaned down on them, his eyes focused on the window next to the perch. Carol bit her bottom lip, and moved to lean beside him.

"Can't help it, Daryl," she teased, "Maybe you should try not to be so damn good looking."

He looked over at her in shock.

"I...what are you talking about?" he snapped, clearly uncomfortable.

"Can't help the things that come to mind," Carol shrugged. Another crack of thunder made her jump and she noticed that he almost reached out to comfort her, but then stopped himself.

"I don't want to know," Daryl mumbled, tucking his arms underneath his chest as he leaned against the bar.

"You sure about that?" Carol teased, scooting over a little bit closer to him. "Some of it's pretty good."

"Shut up," Daryl muttered, leaning his head onto his arms. Carol laughed and fell silent, listening to the rain as it pounded the glass of the windows. Suddenly, the storm didn't seem so scary, the water droplets were soothing and soft as they slid down the glass and Carol smiled. Once again, Daryl managed to calm her down without even trying.

"Well," she said, standing up straight, "I feel a lot better and I'm really tired."

She leaned down and pressed a quick kiss to Daryl's temple. Then brought her lips to his ear.

"Thank you, Daryl," she whispered. Then she made her way down from the perch and towards her cell, her heart felt warm and fluttery and the next clap of thunder didn't even phase her, but if she would have turned around and looked up she would have seen Daryl's Dixon jump nearly a mile at the sound.

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**Nothing smutty in this one because I figured she should probably chill out and not come on so strong again to let him cool off. I thought of this scenario in a dream and because it was raining when I woke up :) **

**Next section to be up soon!**


	3. Amateur

**Wow! I am so overwhelmed by the response to this series! You all are pretty boss awesome, so I shall continue!**

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"There's a new herd of walkers on the fences," Glenn announced as he and Maggie returned from their rounds in the yard.

"Lots of them." Maggie backed him up, "We should probably take a team and get as many through the fence as we can so they don't all pile up and wear on the fence."

Rick's face was void of emotion or even concern.

"Daryl," he called, and Daryl was at his side in a matter of seconds, ready to do what was asked of him. The unspoken trust and understanding between those two men was amazing to Carol as she watched them nod almost imperceptibly at eachother. "I need you to get a party together and go cut down those numbers along the fence. I don't have to explain how to do it."

"You got it," Daryl replied gruffly.

"Carl, T-Dog and I are going to check on the prisoners and see that they're holding up their end of the bargain," Rick continued, "Lori, Hershel and Carl are staying here to hold down our cell block. So the rest are all yours."

Carol smirked at that. She was all his. Oh, how she wished it was true. She glanced at Daryl and her breath caught when she realized he was looking hard at her, a small smirk in the corner of his lips.

"Glenn, Maggie, Beth, Carol," he muttered, "C'mon, let's go kill some walkers."

Carol felt that familiar sick feeling in the pit of her stomach as she picked up her usual crowbar from the table of weapons but she walked purposely alongside Beth as they made their way out of the prison and into the yard, Daryl carefully leading the way with his crossbow up and ready. They made it to the fence with no trouble and Carol's eyes widened as she took in the very large group of walkers that had accumulated on the other side. Upon seeing the small party of humans, they began to lean into the fence, clawing at it in an effort to reach their "food".

Daryl shouldered his crossbow and pulled his hunting knife from its sheath on his hip.

"Nobody waste no ammo," he stated grimly, "But ya'll ain't dumb and I assume ya already know that much. Have at 'em."

Maggie was the first to attack, jabbing one of the walkers in the face with her ever present machete and watching in morbid satisfaction as it fell over backwards. It sparked something among the others and they were soon all against the fence, jabbing and stabbing. Carol shuddered as a particularly thick stream of blood splattered her front as she shoved the crowbar into its skull and she backed up for a second to get her bearings. She glanced around and found she had ended up right next to Daryl in their defensive line and she watched in sick amazement as he dispatched walker after walker with smooth, yet fearfully aggressive, attacks. His hunting knife, hand, wrist and forearm were covered in blood and she saw specks of it on his face as well, adding to the ferocity of his appearance. Good Lord this should NOT be turning her on as much as it was...

She took out her sexual frustration on the next walker to approach her area of fence with loud growl and a crowbar through the eye socket. Soon, all thoughts of a bloody, growling Daryl Dixon were pushed out of her brain and she fell into a fierce rhythm of stab, pull, stab pull.

"Carol!" Daryl's voice cut into her rhythm and she looked up in surprise when she felt his hand close firmly on her forearm. He was looking at her with trepidation and she realized that everyone was staring at her. Carol mentally appraised herself then and realized she was gripping her crowbar tightly in both hands, her legs wide in an aggressive stance, her teeth gritted angrily and her lips pulled back in a snarl...she assumed she had actually BEEN snarling. She glanced at the fence and realized her walker pile was the largest of them all, surpassed only by Glenn's down at the opposite end...goodness, had she really killed that many?

"Are we done?" she asked softly.

"I think you've done enough, yeah," Daryl replied, eyeing her suspiciously, concerned. "C'mon, ya'll, let's get back inside. Anyone got a head count?"

"Forty," Beth claimed quietly, "And still more wandering the edge of the woods."

Daryl nodded and pulled Carol's arm to turn her towards the buildings, giving her a push on her back to propel her forward. Carol walked, feeling almost like she'd blacked out for a while before Daryl had said her name in that demanding, brusque way he had. When they reached the cell block, Carol headed straight for her toiletry bag, grabbing the small thing of shampoo and shower gel she'd been using sparingly, but she felt so filthy and disgusting that she determined now was an excellent time to use it.

"Heading for a shower," she told Lori as she passed her, so no one would freak out if they couldn't find her. Lori gave her a funny look and then nodded with a smile.

"Have fun," she stated, her eyes glinted oddly and Carol vaguely wondered what her deal was as she walked through the infirmary on the way to the showers. The way had been cleared and declared safe a few days ago and it had been the best thing to Carol besides the discovery of the food stores.

Carol laid her change of clothes on the bench outside the door and then stepped in to the community shower room. It was a large room with two square stalls separated by a cement wall, each stall contained several showerheads and a bench or two. Crude, dirty...but the water was warmed by underground springs and it was a blessing that Carol would never look down at. Carol stepped into the nearest stall and pulled the curtain behind her, the clinking of the rings on the pole echoed in the large room, then she set her washrag and soaps on the bench next to her and turned on one of the many showerheads. She let out a heavy sigh as the cool water warmed quickly and cascaded over her shoulders and down the rest of her body, causing the water at her feet to run a sickly dark red from the walker blood that was being removed from her skin. With a heavy sigh, she rested her forehead against the cement of the wall, letting the water hit her back as she breathed, trying to relax and get her mind off the image of Daryl's ruthless, calculated takedowns, trying to forget the look on his face and the way his arm muscles rippled with each movement...oh gosh...not working at all.

Carol was suddenly struck with an undeniable need, a warm pooling in the deepest part of her and she tensed up for a moment at the thought that she finally DID have some time alone in a relatively secluded place. Yeah, she owed this to herself, like Daryl had said the other day...it's been a long time.

So, with another moment's hesitation, she started to run her hands down her body, washing away the last traces of blood from her arms and face before she relaxed and let herself enjoy the moment. She slid her hands down her sides and over the bumps of her hips, letting her eyes close as she imagined her hands as calloused, firm, tan and strong like Daryl's and when she moved her hand into the junction of her thighs she released all inhibitions.

She began working herself into a frenzy with her fingers, her imagination running wild as the water washed over her, washing away the evidence of what she was doing to herself. She let her head drop back as the tension inside her grew with every push and curl of her fingers and rub of her thumb and palm. She let out a whimper and the realization that that sound had only increased the pleasure made her full out groan. By the time she finally worked herself to a climax, she was moaning loudly and bucking her hips into her hand, fully abandoned to the feelings coursing through her and, forgetting completely that this WAS a bathroom shared by the entire group, let a single word slip from her lips. Daryl.

Little did she know that, in the course of her self-pleasuring endeavor, someone else had decided to use the shower room.

Daryl stood in the stall on the other side of the wall, frozen in shock at the sounds coming from the other stall. He wondered who it was over there, moaning and gasping like an expert porn star, sounds he remembered from the videos his daddy and brother would watch every night, hands down their pants shamelessly. Daryl remembered ducking out of the room, the sounds alone following him throughout the small house.

He felt little jolts of hot fire shoot to his crotch at each little sound coming from the woman in the stall next to him and he fought the urge to grip himself and play along with them. He leaned his head against the cold cement wall and closed his eyes tightly. Hell, they needed to hurry and get out of here before he gave in, because he knew he was prone to being a bit loud when it came to this. He pushed his palms into the wall as the sounds got faster and louder and finally ended in a loud moaning shriek.

But the icing on the proverbial cake came in the silent whisper not seconds later: "Daryl."

Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Had he done something to make some sort of noise? How'd they know he was in here!? He waited for someone to start yelling at his from behind the wall, telling him to get the fuck out and quit being a creep...but nothing happened, the water on the other side continued to run for a while and then it stopped and he heard the curtain being pulled back, which made him back further into his stall because he'd forgotten to pull his curtain when he came in. Shit. He did the only thing he could and backed up into the shower as far as he could, hoping whoever it was would just let him off the hook.

Daryl forgot all about being embarrassed or contrite when he saw who it was in the shower next to him. She walked out stark naked, her back to him as she walked to the sinks and leaned over one with her eyes closed. His eyes scanned every inch of her he could see, from the gentle column of her neck, down her entire spine to the hollow of her back and lower, to the soft roundness of her ass, then further to her well-muscled thighs and calves to her very heel, every inch he scanned the worse he felt for standing there silently doing so.

Almost as if some divine power seemed fit to punish him for his appreciative stare, Carol's eyes snapped open and met his in the mirror over the sink. He watched her expression go from shocked, to embarrassed to absolutely furious in a matter of a split second and he flinched slightly when she spun around to face him, revealing so much more than he even dared to imagine seeing. She stomped forward and right into the shower with him, her eyes blazing.

"What are you doing in here!?" she shrieked.

"I...I...was..." Daryl stuttered, not really sure what to do. "Gonna...take a shower..."

"Yeah? Well then why are you just standing in here watching me then?!" clearly Carol was absolutely mortified and Daryl wasn't feeling much better, his cheeks flared red as he looked off to the side, trying to focus on ANYTHING beside her chest which was mere inches from his own.

"I didn't know it was you!" he defended himself, calling on anger to cover up for his discomfort. "I didn't mean to...I had no idea..."

"Well you should have said something, damn it!" Carol moaned, feeling like a complete fool. "Or were you getting a kick out of it, you sicko!?"

She glanced down and then looked up at him, squinting angrily. Daryl automatically attempted to cover his obvious erection and turned slightly away from her.

"It ain't like that!" he snapped, "I wasn't..."

"Oh you weren't, huh?" Carol cut him off, she eyed him distrustfully.

"Carol, you're really starting to piss me off!" Daryl growled, forgetting about modesty. He turned and stepped forward to try and intimidate her into backing off...but it didn't work. "I. Didn't. Mean. To. Hear. You."

Carol stared at him in silence, her eyes still squinted. Finally she sighed heavily and she seemed to deflate a bit.

"So...you heard all that?" she whispered.

"Yeah..." Daryl looked down at the shower floor and swallowed hard as he remembered that last little whimpering whisper of his name.

"So you know...I was...I was thinking of you while I...?" Carol ventured, knowing she was on the verge of spooking him. It was like dealing with a wild stallion.

Daryl just stood there and stared at her, disbelief and skepticism in his expression.

"Why?"

Carol hadn't expected that. She had expected him to freak out and run or something, but not this.

"What do you mean, why?" she asked nervously.

""Why me?" Daryl seemed exasperated, "Can't understand ya! I ain't no expert when it comes to this. I ain't even good at bein' friends."

Carol considered him for a while, studying his face. Then she reached out and gripped his bicep just above his left elbow and met his eyes seriously.

"Because of that," she whispered, "You're not some macho, over-confident asshole and you don't pretend to be an expert. I like you because you're the way you are, simple, quiet, careful...dirty you. And don't sell yourself short, you're the best friend I ever had."

"I...don't..." whatever he had been about to say was cut off when Carol pushed herself up and kissed him. It was a simple kiss, questioning if he was willing to reciprocate, and he considered it for a moment before he bent his head down, not quite sure exactly what he was doing, and caught her lips with his. He'd never really kissed anyone like this, he'd never cared to, to be honest. None of the girls he'd ever been with had mattered a lick to him, they were just ways to get his rocks off and then move on, never seeing them again. But Carol...Carol was different, he _wanted_ to make _her_ feel good too, not just himself. But it occurred to him that he really had no idea how to do that.

Carol pulled back almost as soon as that very thought flickered into his mind and he bit his bottom lip, worried he'd done something wrong.

"Was that...bad?" he asked nervously.

Carol shook her head with a small smile.

"No, no," she assured him gently, "That was...pretty good for your first try. Don't worry, we have plenty of time to practice. I'm going to touch you, ok? Try to...relax."

Daryl swallowed the terrified lump in his throat and stared at her in disbelief as her hand slid slowly down his chest and stomach, leaving an almost burning trail behind her fingertips as they went lower and lower, till they finally reached their intended destination and wrapped gently around him, causing his eyes to drop closed and a moan to escape his throat.

"Alright?" Carol questioned, remaining still as he collected himself.

"Mhm," Daryl replied heavily, "We shouldn't do this here."

"If it were up to you, we wouldn't do this anywhere," Carol giggled, she was feeling giddy and so very lucky. She finally had her hands on Daryl Dixon. Literally. She wasn't going to let a little thing like location ruin this for her.

Daryl gave her a weak smile and Carol realized how very unsure he looked right now, like he had no idea what to do with himself.

"Put your hands on my waist," Carol whispered, trying to get him started and hopefully spur him into discovering these things on his own. He followed her request and she smiled at the feel of his rough, dirty hands against her skin as his palms rested on her hipbones. "Perfect."

Daryl groaned in reply as Carol finally started to move her hand along his hardened length between them, and she could tell he wasn't use to holding himself back, he'd never experienced sex as anything but a release, nothing meaningful at all...she was going to change that, show him just how amazing it could be.

"Feel good?" she whispered.

Daryl laughed lightly and nodded.

"Yeah," he breathed, "Yeah, does."

"You know, the longer you hold on, the better it is, right?" Carol encouraged.

"That so?" Daryl grunted as she ran her thumb over the tip of him slowly, "Fuck!"

"Don't," Carol demanded, feeling that tell-tale tightening under her hand, she loosened her hold and went still again.

Before Daryl could reply with any sort of snarky remark, the door of the shower room flung open with a loud smack against the wall and they both jumped apart in shock. Maggie was standing there, looking equal parts surprised and afraid.

"Carol! Sorry to...interrupt," she stated urgently, "But Lori, she's having contractions! The baby's coming."

Carol's eyes widened and she gave Daryl an apologetic look before she ran out and grabbed her clothes from the bench, throwing them on as fast as she could to get out to the cellblock. She took the time to put on her shoes because she knew it was foolish to run around this place barefoot and then she trotted down the hall, through the infirmary and into their cellblock where she found Lori sitting on the bottom bunk in their room, clutching her belly and looking very nervous.

"Lori, how do you feel?" she asked immediately.

"I'm ok, Carol, the contractions feel normal," Lori stated, her voice tinged with discomfort. "Mmmm, just hurts like usual."

"No tearing sensations? Everything feels like it should?" Carol asked again.

"Yes," Lori squeaked as another contraction started. Carol felt a presence at her side and she looked up to see Daryl standing there, he gave her a small nod.

"Daryl, can you help me get her onto a mattress on the floor?" Carol asked him. He nodded and immediately put his arm around Lori and lifted her to her feet when the contraction had ended. Carol pulled the mattress onto the floor and they eased Lori onto it.

"No, no, I want to sit," Lori stated weakly, so Daryl walked her gently to a chair where she sat in a tripod position and leaned forward. "Oh, that's better."

It wasn't much better in a couple of minutes when another contraction hit her. After a few rounds of those, Daryl gave Carol a look and backed out of the room. Carol understood, he was uncomfortable in there and she respected that. Maggie and Beth came in to help and Carol rolled up her sleeves.

"I need clean towels, a few of them need to be warm to wrap the baby in when it comes out, I also need clean scissors, a clamp or a strong piece of clean string, boiling water, blankets...NOW, PEOPLE!"

And so Carol's day ended in assisting in the successful birth of a lovely baby girl that Lori named Judith. Not at all how she'd planned it to end at all, but not bad...not bad.

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**Aw, cockblocked by a baby...lol :D**


	4. Cumbersome

**After tonight's election...I really need to relieve some stress, so I turned to writing. Not to insult anyone, but I'm terrified for this country and the path that it has chosen. God help us...save us from ourselves.**

**I'm sorry, America...we tried to save you. I love this country, and I'll fight for my home, but I will not let this government take me down with it, I'll die first.**

**I will now come down off my soapbox, a sad and disillusioned American, and prepare to fight for my freedoms with everything that is in me...even with my life. We need a revolution.**

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Now that there was a new mouth to feed, Daryl took it upon himself to go out hunting far more often and for longer periods of time so that Lori could get some nutrition back to better provide for baby Judith. He usually managed to bring back a good amount of food on those days where he was gone during every bit of sunlight possible and Rick's appreciation was obvious in the look he gave Daryl whenever he would walk through that hole in the fence safely and in one piece. Truth be told, however, Daryl wasn't looking for gratitude, and it wasn't JUST to provide food...it was also to get some space from Carol.

He'd never admit it, but she'd scared the crap out of him with that little stunt in the showers. At the time, he'd never even given a thought about what almost happened, but once the excitement of the baby being born had died down he was completely overcome with embarrassment and fear of Maggie telling everyone what she'd seen. He was ashamed, not shame over who but over what, and he didn't want the whole world knowing about what had almost gone down in those showers.

So he decided it would be best if he just avoided her altogether these past few days. She was busy helping with the baby so he assumed she was too busy to notice and he was glad because he didn't want to hurt her feelings by staying away from her but, damn it, he just couldn't face her. He didn't know what the hell she wanted from him but he was pretty sure he was not qualified to give it to her, surely he wasn't even remotely her type.

Unfortunately, Carol had noticed his distance and today when he returned from his hunt with the string of squirrels, rabbits and a beaver, she was determined to corner and confront him. He saw it in her eyes the moment he stepped in the yard, she was sitting on the grass with the rest of the ladies doing mending and such on all the worn clothes in the warmth of the Georgia Spring. As he walked past, she followed him with her gaze and he suddenly felt very self conscious about how he walked and found his legs started to stiffen as his nervousness increased.

"Carol, you wanna come cook these or not?" he called back gruffly, giving her the chance to follow if she felt she needed to. He figured it would be best to get this confrontation over with in the privacy of the kitchen while everyone else was outside. Her footsteps approached him quickly and she slowed into step slightly behind him as they made their way into the cell block.

When they reached the kitchen, Carol immediately pulled out pans to put the meat in once Daryl skinned them properly and Daryl laid the string of animals on the stainless steel prep area and pulled out his buck knife to do just that. He worked in silence, waiting for her to speak because he could hear her back there sighing and fiddling around doing nothing beside move stuff around, he knew she was organizing her thoughts.

"Are you avoiding me, Daryl?" her small voice suddenly reached his ears and he felt a tiny bit of tension disappear from his shoulders. He didn't speak, because he knew she had much more to say. Sure enough, she came over and stood on the other side of the table to look at him with big, tear filled blue eyes.

"Aw, fuck's sake," Daryl sighed, looking at her face as it twisted with sadness.

"If you don't find me attractive, why can't you just tell me?" Carol asked with a choked voice, "I mean, you've had plenty of time. If you don't want me around, you should just say it because being avoided and not knowing one way or the other hurts worse than just admitting that you don't want me like I want you. I mean, I know I'm older than you and I know my hair isn't long and flowing and blonde, and I know I'm as skinny as a rail and I know I'm used goods, but I still thought maybe we had something between us."

Daryl stared at her in utter disbelief the whole time she was spouting her tirade at him, watching the way her bottom lip quivered every time paused to take a breath and the way her fingertips pressed firmly into the table as she neared the end of her speech, but mostly he watched the way her tears slid down her cheeks and left little puddles on the steel of the table.

"Carol, are you crazy?" Daryl sighed, running his hand down his face and placing both palms down on the table to lean forward on them.

"I'm beginning to think so," Carol admitted softly, she looked off towards the barred window and bit her bottom lip in an effort to stop the quivering.

"I didn't mean it like that!" Daryl snapped, then he looked down, squinting in annoyance at his unintentional sharp tone. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I meant, you're crazy if ya think I see ya like that. You ain't used goods and I don't ever want to hear you say that again. And for your information, I never did have a thing for blondes anyhow!"

He pushed off of the table and came around, turning Carol around by the shoulders to face him. He stood at arm's length from her and allowed himself to look her up and down, taking in every inch.

"I just...don't know how to do this," he admitted quietly as he looked down at the floor. "I ain't ever had to look out for anyone but myself. It ain't that I don't find ya attractive, because I fuckin' do, it's just...I don't know how to be who you want me to be."

He waited for her to reply, but she didn't, she didn't even move an inch and so he finally worked up the courage to look at her face. He braced himself for the look of agreement or annoyance...but he found those blue eyes of hers locked on his full of understanding and something close to humor. She smiled slightly.

"You're exactly who I want you to be," she said softly, "Just the way you are."

Daryl didn't even know what to say to that so he just stood there with his hands resting on her shoulders the way they'd been since he walked around to the table to her and blinked in disbelief. Did she honestly not care how awkward he was? Did she not get embarrassed by his outbursts, harsh language and rough attitude? Was she saying that he WAS exactly what she wanted?

"In case that brain of yours is trying to figure out if I'm telling the truth or not, I most definitely am," Carol assured him after a long period of silence.

"But...I ain't..." Daryl started to reason with her but she didn't let him speak. She gripped him firmly by his biceps and leaned forward on her tiptoes, cutting him off by covering his mouth with hers.

Daryl was surprised, shocked even. His eyes went wide and his entire body tensed at the sudden and definite contact, her body came forward to press into him, inch for inch, and he felt lightheaded with disbelief. Finally, he let himself relax slightly and Carol pulled back to look at him with a puzzled look.

"Aren't you gonna kiss me back?" she asked quietly, but he noticed she didn't look unsure. She KNEW he had been unprepared and she KNEW he wasn't use to physical contact like this and she wasn't rushing him, that question was more than just a question, it was a quite understanding that she would wait till he was ready if he wanted. But he didn't want to wait anymore...he knew what he wanted now, what he'd wanted for so long, to let her know how he felt about her.

When he pulled her face back to his and started a long, slow, kiss he tried to put aside all thoughts on insecurity and unsure feelings and just kiss her according to how he felt at that moment. And so that sweet, gentle kiss soon became ravenous as they both poured out the long denied feelings they'd kept inside for so long, the majority of the aggression came from him, he realized.

"Daryl," Carol pulled back and whispered, "Please don't do this to me if you're just going to walk away and pretend this never happened again. I don't know if I can handle it again."

The silence that filled the air after that statement was heavy and disconcerting and Carol, felt her heart sink as it lingered on and on while Daryl stood there motionless and eyes closed. She decided to put some space between them, possibly to make the rejection less painful when he finally voiced it...but she felt herself pulled firmly back into his chest, colliding with him audibly with a _thump_ sound. He looked at her with slight panic in his eyes.

"I ain't walkin' away," he said quickly, "You see me walkin' out?"

Carol looked at him hopefully.

"But...I don't know if I'm ready for everyone t' know about us," he whispered then, wondering himself how he could be so worried about what people thought. Hell, he was lucky Maggie had decided to keep her trap shut about the shower incident.

"Why?" Carol whispered back, "Why does it matter what they think?"

"Ya readin' my mind or somethin'?" Daryl asked in amazement. "I...don't even know why. I just...don't know how to be what ya'll expect."

"Well, heck, Daryl," Carol laughed, "That's one of the best things about you, you're never what we expect."

Daryl didn't know what to say to that, so he decided not to say anything at all, he just rested his chin on her head and sighed. They stood there in silence, pressed against each other for a long moment before Carol pulled away and gave him a sad little smile.

"I think you know where I stand, Daryl," she said softly, her hand came up to rest on the side of his face as she nodded slowly. "But I can tell you're not ready. Don't feel bad about it, ok? I understand and I'll just be waiting until you are."

Daryl watched her leave the kitchen, a huge lump in his throat preventing him from calling her back and claiming out loud to her all the things running through his mind. He wanted her. He wasn't ashamed. He had insane feelings for her...he might even love her. But he remained silent and the door shut behind her, ending his chance to let her know how he felt.

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**Well, I'm still wide awake so I think I'll write another chapter tonight :D **


	5. Inelegence

**This is the final chapter of this story :) I'll try to make this go out with a bang, I promise! Thanks for the unbelievable response to this story, it did very well, I feel!**

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When all Hell broke loose on the prison, Daryl's mind went into murder mode. He knew someone was responsible for this and all he could think about was finding the son of a bitch who'd pulled this shit and give him a very deep Columbian necktie with his buck knife. So he ran full out and watched in disbelief as Rick practically lapped him in his terror fueled sprint towards the gate, screaming for Lori as he went. He called for the keys and Daryl forced his legs to stop running and turned to catch them as Glenn tossed them and then he threw them to Rick who had the gate open by the time he and Glenn caught up.

By the time they reached the prison yard, there was no one to be found. Then the alarms began to sound and walkers began coming again, the ones on the inside gathering towards the sources and the ones on the outside pressing into the fences. One of the prisoners, Oscar, explained that the back up generators controlled the alarm system and that they must have kicked on, so they found themselves running through the inside of the prison, just he, Rick and Oscar as their group of five split up to search for the others.

Finally, they reached the generators and they ran in, slamming the door behind them as the walkers pressed themselves against it. Rick went to shut off the generators while Daryl and Oscar held the door. Daryl heard the attack going on behind them in the next minute and he told Oscar he'd handle the door and that he should go and help Rick. So he pushed against that door with all his might and managed to take down the walker causing the most trouble and get it shut completely, locking it against the horde outside. Then he heard the gunshot and his blood ran cold as he turned, seeing Oscar holding Rick's Python in front of him, the barrel smoking slightly as he stared ahead. Daryl crouched, pulling his buck knife and approached carefully, ready to take out all this pent up stress on this man in front of him who'd been foolish enough to turn on them...but then he saw Rick standing there and he saw the body on the floor behind him. It was the prisoner he'd thought Rick had killed, the runaway, Tomas' little sidekick.

"C'mon," Daryl mumbled, straightening up and giving Oscar a nod of acceptance, "Let's go find our people."

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They found T-Dog's body at one of the entrances, and the only way they could really tell it was T-Dog was by the size of the bloody carcass that had once been their friend. Only T-Dog had that football player build...there was no doubt who it had been.

Then Daryl saw something off to the side near the door that made his rapidly pumping heart stop. He stared at it in silence for several seconds before he bent down and picked up the length of material he recognized as the head scarf Carol had been wearing earlier that day. He eyed the blood on it and felt his heart jump into his throat. God, no...it couldn't be, not her, anyone but her!

He saw the looks the others were giving him and he dropped the material and took on his usual firm look and they moved on, heading outside to the yard again. They found Herschel and Beth on the top of a stairwell behind a closed chain-link gate and they both came out with looks of relief upon seeing fellow survivors. Not too much later, another door opened behind them and they all turned in silent shock at the sound of a baby crying.

As soon as he saw them, Daryl knew something was terribly wrong...Maggie was sobbing and clutching onto the squalling baby for dear life and Carl...Carl looked haunted and cold. Lori was nowhere to be seen and it clicked in his mind. Lori was dead.

Daryl watched in silent brokenness as Rick collapsed into a sobbing pile, grieving over the woman he'd loved and lost...the whole time, all Daryl could think of was the woman he'd loved and never had the balls to let her know just how much. T-Dog, Lori...but most of all, Carol. Today, he mused, may have just driven them all to a whole new level of madness and insecurity.

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Daryl stood among the rest of them as they lowered the bodies of their comrades into the deep holes they'd dug for their final resting place. Hershel had been kind enough to cover Lori's shredded stomach, but there was nothing to be done to improve the look of T-Dog's remains and they were all too vividly reminded of the horror of the previous day. Daryl eyed the already filled grave with the cross that had Carol's name on it and he wanted nothing more than to rip that cross out and snap it in two. They hadn't even had a body to bury, just that damn blood-stained scarf.

After a long time, everybody departed from the gravesides to go begin moving bodies out of the yard to burn. It was a necessary form of stress relief that Daryl knew they needed. But he couldn't tear himself away from the grave in front of him yet and he glanced around to see if anyone was watching before he pulled the white flower from his pocket. A Cherokee Rose he'd found along the fence line that morning as he and Maggie returned from their baby supply run.

"If I'd known...I would have told ya everything," he whispered as he laid the flower down next to the cross, "I wish I'd just fuckin' told ya I loved ya before this happened. And I wish I'd been there to protect ya."

He let out a shaky breath and shut his eyes tight as they started to burn with unshed tears. He refused to let them fall and he backed up from the grave and readjusted his crossbow before he turned slowly and made his way back to the prison yard to help clean up.

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Daryl knew something was up when he reached the yard, everyone looked far too happy for their current situation and he suddenly felt a surge of anger rise up in him and he walked through the gate with a squinting glare on his face.

"What's so damn funny?" he growled, "B'cause I don't see nothing to be laughin' about!"

Everyone turned to look at him with a smile and the group parted quickly and Daryl suddenly felt like he might faint for the first time in his life. Carol stood there in the center of them all, her eyes soft as she looked at him with a shy smile.

"Hi, Daryl," she squeaked, looking sheepish.

And Daryl felt something snap inside him and he felt the tell-tale wetness of tears on his face as they poured out of his eyes and down his cheeks and he covered the distance between them before he even knew what was happening and he pretty much plowed right into her, causing her to take a few staggering steps back to keep from falling backwards from the impact, but Daryl wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into his chest firmly, like he was terrified she was going to disappear again and he wasn't going to ever let her go.

And suddenly, he didn't give a fuck about anyone around them as he tipped her chin up and claimed her mouth with his, tasting her tears on her lips as his tongue slid along them. He couldn't stop himself, he assaulted her mouth with all the emotion he could muster. Then he buried his nose into her neck and rested his head on her shoulder, pressing kisses to the skin there.

"Carol, I thought...we all thought..."

"I know," Carol whispered, "I had to stay hidden, those walkers wouldn't leave and I was out of ammo. I had no way of protecting myself so I had to wait for the coast to be clear. I'm sorry everyone worried about me."

"I gotta tell you," Daryl stated quickly, "I shoulda told ya a long time ago, shoulda told ya every single damn day! I don't ever wanna lose ya, Carol, I...I love ya."

Carol saw the reactions of the group, the hands covering the mouths in surprise, the knowing smiles, the grins...but then she pushed Daryl back from her so she could look at him and she forgot all about the rest of them being there.

"You do?" she asked quietly.

Daryl nodded, blinking rapidly as his eyes dried up from his crying fit, and smiled slightly.

"Well then," Carol smiled widely, "I think we should get these bodies burned so we can find a little privacy."

"Don't bother, the rest of us have got this," Maggie stated firmly as they walked over to the others, she pushed them away from the bodies and towards the gate. "We won't be anywhere near the east guard tower. You two get out of here, there needs to be a little bit of happiness in this group after everything that's happened."

She gave Carol a wink and Carol smiled, grabbed Daryl by the arm and headed directly for said tower.

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Daryl's heart was thudding like Ricky Ricardo's conga drum, he swore it was going to beat right out of his chest as Carol pulled him along by his arm like an excited child towards the guard tower. He gulped hard when she turned and smiled at him sweetly and he knew there was no turning back now...the secret was out.

He sped up and opened the guard tower door and held it for Carol. She grinned and stepped through with a "thank you" and he watched her head up the stairs as he hesitated at the door...truth be told, he was terrified.

"You coming, Daryl?" Carol's voice drifted down to him and he closed his eyes tight, thinking back to when he'd jokingly asked Glen that same question and he wondered vaguely if she was joking too.

"Yeah," he called back as he let the door shut behind him. He took a deep breath and slowly headed up the stairs. Carol met him at the top and immediately pulled him into her, her mouth catching his with a fervor he'd never felt from her before, something almost desperate in the long, sensuous kiss she was laying on him. Then she pulled back and took his face between her hands, looking at him pleadingly.

"Please, don't change your mind," she whispered, "Please tell me you're ready for this."

Daryl swallowed thickly, but he didn't look away from her. He nodded silently, just once, and he felt his stomach do a strange little flip when she smiled at him, a bright, genuine, joyful smile. And to think, he was the one who'd put that smile there...it was totally new to him, this feeling in his gut. This wasn't like the past times, the quickies against the bathroom doors of run down bars, the emotionless faces of the girl beneath him, the complete lack of concern whether it was good for her or not...this was different, this was terrifying, this was so much more than anything he'd ever felt before.

"Carol," he whispered, feeling like he had to let her have the whole truth before she made this decision, "Just so ya know...I ain't never...it's been a long time and I...never did learn t' do this right. I ain't never cared about the girl I was with before and...god, I want to do this right."

She didn't laugh, she didn't look at him like he was crazy, she didn't get a look of disgust on her face...she just kept on smiling at him with this soft expression that was driving him crazy with desire.

"You'll do it right," she whispered, sounding perfectly confident about the whole thing, "And if you don't this time, there's always next time."

Good Lord, this woman...

Carol suddenly found herself pulled flush against the firm, muscled heat of Daryl's body and his lips were on hers once more, his tongue unhesitatingly slid between them and she let her teeth part to grant him entrance, which he took gladly and with much gusto. But she still felt the tenseness in his arms and shoulders, like he was still in defense mode, and she knew it was going to take some time for this to become their normal, but she also know he was worth the wait.

She slid her hands down those beautifully carved arms of his and gripped his palms then lifted his hands and slid them under the material of her shirt. She sighed at the feeling of his calloused hands, hot and firm against the skin of her stomach and she was delighted when he slowly slid them up and around her ribs, coming up to her shoulders in the back, thumbs tracing along her bare shoulders.

"You ain't wearin' nothin' under that shirt, are ya?" Daryl asked gruffly into her lips.

"Nope, not a thing," Carol giggled. She'd given up on bras a while back, her chest was small enough for her to get away with it.

"Fuck, that's..." Daryl didn't waste time explaining just what it was, instead he clamped back down on her mouth with his and slid his hands around to her front. Carol could feel his hands trembling as his palms slid over her chest and his kiss faltered when his fingers found the hard peaks and he pulled back to look at her face, his expression searching, like he was silently asking for permission.

Carol stepped back and pulled her shirt over her head before he could even register what was happening, revealing her entire top half to him, every inch of creamy pale skin and every light freckle that speckled her shoulders and chest. He stared at her for a long time before he pulled her closer and began tracing the outlines of her collarbones and her ribs, sharp and noticeable from the malnutrition they all lived with these days.

"I gotta start feedin' ya more," he muttered as his blue eyes scanned her slowly and calculatingly.

Carol slid her own hands up under the material of his usual vest and sleeveless shirt and lifted at it insistently until he raised his arms to allow her to pull them both off of him and he stood there shifting foot to foot in discomfort as she sized him up with those big, pretty blue eyes of hers. His mind went to those ugly scars that covered his torso, front and back, and wondered if she was going to ask about them. But she didn't, and she didn't even appear to be surprised, she just stepped forward again and wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned her head on his bare chest.

"I think I should probably start feeding YOU more," she whispered, her fingertips traced his side, up and over each rib that jutted out from under his pale, scarred skin.

He really had slimmed down a lot since she'd first met him in the quarry outside Atlanta. Every bit of him was lessened...except for those arms, good LORD those arms. She had imagined, too many times to count, that she'd been wrapped in those powerful arms and pulled into this firm chest...and now it was happening and she could barely believe it as she traced the muscles of his back with her fingers.

"We gonna do this or what?" she whispered, looking up at him from her spot against his chest. She decided she was going to have to be the one to take the first steps here, so she stepped back a few paces from him and locked eyes with him as she slowly undid the button and zipper of her jeans and shimmied them down her hips, she saw the obvious bulge in his pants twitch and she grinned as she let her jeans drop to the floor and she stepped out of them, completely bare to his eyes for the first time.

He stared at her with a hunger she would attribute to a half-starved coyote who'd just found a chicken coop and it made her a little nervous and she meekly looked away from the intensity of his gaze.

"Damn," she heard him mutter quietly, "Carol...you...just...damn."

"Thanks," Carol laughed lightly, "I'm sure you're not so bad yourself."

And she saw the bright red blush creep into Daryl's cheeks as his eyes dropped to the floor, he suddenly looked terribly nervous and she smiled softly as he shifted his weight from foot to foot in his usual fidgety way. But she waited silently for his resolve to come back and he finally raised his eyes back to her slowly.

"Come on, Daryl," Carol pleaded silently, "You can trust me."

He nodded and hesitated a few moments longer before his visibly shaking fingers finally made it to the button of his faded, ripped jeans and undid it with a bit of fumbling and then he slid the zipper down...but then he stopped, eyes closed and he sighed heavily while shaking his head. Carol waited, knowing it would probably be easier on him if she just took it all in her own hands and ripped those damn jeans off of him, but she was going to make him do this...make his see he had to make some of the effort in this. He must have understood that stubborn look in her eyes because he bit his bottom lip and hooked his thumbs on the top of his jeans and slid them down painfully slow, that bright red flush coloring his cheeks again as he did.

And Carol discovered she was right...not so bad at all. Carol couldn't stop the grin that spread across her face as she scanned every last bare inch of the man she'd given her heart to so long ago, she never thought this moment would come and yet...here they were. And she was done waiting.

She closed the considerable space between them in a flash, her arms going around his neck and her right leg hooking around his left hip as she pulled herself as close to him as she could. Daryl tensed up and then chuckled deeply in her ear as he put his arms around her to steady her after her attack, the heat of his hands on her lower back felt like fire against her skin and Carol felt a familiar pooling in the lowest part of her abdomen as her body responded to the feel of him pressing against her...into her.

"Mph," Daryl grunted as she bucked her hips against him, "Take it easy!"

"But..."

Daryl silenced her with his mouth, kissing her firmly but slowly, trying to figure out what to do next. He slid his hands slowly up from her hips to her shoulders and then down again, loving the feel of her soft skin under his calloused palms. And he felt like his brain would explode when Carol's hands suddenly embedded themselves in his hair, tugging just enough to hurt a tiny bit, but mostly enough to drive him crazy and make his dick twitch and grow harder than it had already achieved, he wondered vaguely if he was going to be able to even hold on long enough to let this happen.

"You alright?" Carol's whisper brought him back to reality and he smiled at her.

"Yeah," he said quietly.

Carol stepped back, lowering her foot back to the floor and then she surprised him even more than she had yet by laying down their clothes in a rectangle shape and dropping down to them and sitting there looking up at him with those big doe eyes of hers. She smiled and patted the floor next to her, beckoning him to join her. So without any hesitation, Daryl dropped to the floor beside her and waited on pins and needles for her next move.

"I'm not doing all the hard work here, Daryl," Carol said cheekily, reaching out to lay her hand on the side of his face, her thumb traced the scruffy prickles of his mustache and along his jaw...maybe she was just odd, but she loved the feel of it when she kissed him and her mind was going haywire imagining that scruff...somewhere completely different.

She was snapped back to reality, such a good reality too, by the feel of Daryl shifting his position and turning to face her. She smiled and laid back as he put his right palm on the floor next to her and hovered half way over her. His left hand threaded into her short hair and he sighed as he just...looked at her.

"I don't know what the hell I'm doing," he whispered, then he leaned down and kissed her again, softly, carefully and simultaneously moved to where he was fully over her, his weight supported on his right elbow. Carol opened her eyes when the kiss ended and found herself looking right into those gorgeous blue eyes of his and saw a look of determination and trepidation in them.

"Daryl, if you don't do this soon, I'm gonna get right up off this floor and find someone willing," she teased, pretending to try and get up.

He must have thought she was serious because he got a panicked look on his face and he straddled her hips firmly and pushed her shoulders back to the floor with both hands.

"Sorry," he mumbled when Carol rubbed the back of her head where it collided with the floor, but she was giggling despite the little stars in her vision. "Don't say that again."

"What?" Carol asked, a little confused.

"You wouldn't...want someone else, would ya ever?" he asked, fearfully.

"Oh, Daryl, of course not," Carol replied seriously, reaching up and placing her hand on the back of his neck to pull his closer, "Never. You're all I want, you're all I've wanted for so long."

Apparently that was all Daryl needed to hear to finally spur him into action, because next thing Carol knew she was caught in another, very passionate kiss and she felt his hand slip down between them and she closed her eyes as she waited for the feeling of him entering her. And when he finally did, after a few mumbles and a miss, she gasped loudly and bit his bottom lip a little harder than she planned.

_This is going to take a little getting used to_, she mused to herself. She'd never been with anyone else since she married Ed and, well, Ed wasn't much to speak of in any department. She had never been stretched this far and never been filled this deeply and it was quite a shock to the system after all that time.

"Ow, what?" Daryl asked quickly, his tongue tracing his now tender bottom lip, "Did I hurt ya?"

Carol shook her head quickly to reassure him, but her breath was still knocked out of her. She felt him moving to pull out and she pushed her heels into the backs of his thighs to keep him there and shook her head desperately.

"Yer lyin'," Daryl hissed, his eyes were clenched tight as her strong legs forced him forward and even deeper.

"I'm...just...not used to you yet," Carol breathed finally, "Doesn't meant it hurts. Please don't stop."

Daryl nodded and gulped loudly as her heels slid down his legs and settled on his calves. Good Lord, everything this woman did drove him to near madness! With that thought, he slowly bucked his hips back and forth in an experimental movement and nearly came right then and there from the sound that issued from Carol's throat. The memory of hearing her in the shower flooded over him and the knowledge that HE was causing those sounds this time made him feel a confidence inside he never imagined he possessed and he did the movement again...and again...and again until he fell into a rhythm that felt right, so fuckin' right.

He didn't last long...he knew he wouldn't. Not with those whimpers and moans she was making in his ears, not with the way she was wiggling and moving beneath him, not when she was so much tighter than he imagined she would be. He released after a short amount of time and he immediately felt like a complete asshole for his "two-pump chump" move as Merle would have called it. Once again, he rolled off of an unsatisfied girl, no, not a girl, a w_oman _this time. He sighed and ran a hand down his face, wondering how she was going to react.

_She's probably disgusted by your eleven year old boy moves, you jackass. _

But damned if she didn't let out a happy little sigh and roll over onto her side to smile at him. She was fucking _smiling_ at him for this shitty little roll on the floor? And then she did the weirdest thing...she laid her head on his chest and put her arm around him and whispered:

"Stop beating yourself up, Daryl."

He raised his head and looked down his nose at her, she had turned her head to look at him from her spot on his chest. How did she always know exactly what he was thinking? She raised herself onto her elbows, looking down at him with a stern expression.

"Don't do that to yourself," she whispered, "You're not perfect, so stop being so disappointed when you realize that. I don't want perfect, I want genuine."

"But...that wasn't even..." he searched his overloaded, post-orgasm brain for a rebuttal but it wasn't coming to him fast enough.

"Ssshh," Carol pressed a finger to his lips and he fell immediately silent, "You think it had to last forever to be good for me?"

He felt his cheek twitch as he squinted at her questioningly and she smiled.

"I won," she said slyly, "I finally got you right where I wanted you and seeing you satisfied is good enough for me right now."

Daryl eyed her with amazement. She didn't even _care _that he'd totally messed this whole moment up?

"You...you don't even know how awesome you are," he whispered.

"Neither do you," Carol replied, a little sadly as she look him in the eyes, "But I'm going to show you. We're together now, Daryl, and we've got plenty of time to work on us. We won't always be as awkward as we are right now."

"Yeah we will," Daryl chuckled, "We always have been."

Carol laughed and rubbed her nose against his, Eskimo style.

"Well then, we'll just learn to harness the awkward and make it work," she replied with a wink, "I think we make awkward look good."

"I think..." Daryl said, with a gleam in his eye, "I'm up for another round of awkward sex with you."

Carol thought she'd never had a better offer in her life.

**TWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWDTWD**

**Tada! Sorry this is the end, folks, but I have a lot to focus on lately and more story requests to work with so I figured short and sweet would be a great way to go with this story. Thanks for all your awesomeness and reviews and keep an eye out for my new stuff and check out my old stuff too if you haven't already :)**

**Peace out!**


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